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He is a busy man for sure, balancing a career as a secretary, while also studying for his cost accountancy. But for Nishant Akhilesh, striking a balance between his professional life and fighting for the cause of human rights is a challenge that he readily accepts. A Gandhian deep down, he holds an important post in the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (an NGO) and does his bit in addressing the cases of human right violations taking place in the city of Jamshedpur. “A part of me can’t tolerate any nonsense happening,” says Nishant. No wonder then that he is also known for his boldness of words and in working for people in distress.
Ded Taang Ki Murgi or the “chicken with one-and-a-half legs” — if there was a hatke title then here’s one. The book may sound like a comedy, but it turns out to be one of the best narratives of the Jharkhand revolution. Meet Arun Albela, an employee of Tata Motors whose first book Ded Taang Ki Murgi was released at this year’s book fair. Published by Jamshedpur-based Sahyog, this was the only drama-based book released. Though a maiden venture, the manuscript was written 15 years ago when it won three prestigious awards at a Rourkela drama festival. What makes it new, is the fact that Albela has added some facts from the present political drama and Naxalite trouble in Jharkhand. Awarded the Rashtriya Bhasha Samman by Tulsi Bhavan, the writer has published over 300 stories in magazines.
Nightingale from the coal capital
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She’s barely out of her teens and already a singing sensation. Koyel Chatterjee, the 20-year-old budding artiste from the coal capital, can sing a Begum Akhtar ghazal and a Hindi film song with equal ease. She was among the few selected from Sa Re Ga Ma Talent Search programme of Zee Bangla, which has signed her up for two years. Koyel was among 60 selected from 10,000 applicants and she made it to the final 24, but had to bow out in the end because of her poor Bengali. A final-year student of history honours from Delhi University, Koyel was also selected for music’s Shiromani diploma course that is conferred on only the few talented students. Mellifluous as her name suggests, Koyel has already set about on her voyage to the house of fame. “I owe my formative years to my mom and Guru Bal Krishna Singh, who has inculcated a taste for classical music in me,” Koyel adds. Among versatile artistes Sunidhi Chauhan and Sonu Nigam are Koyel’s ideals. P.K. Chatterjee, a national-level footballer, presently an employee of Bharat Coking Coal Limited, is certainly a proud father.
Her next stop would be Mumbai where the finals for the Sa Re Ga Ma talent hunt is being held. She is more confident of her performance there. Her reason, “My Hindi is stronger than my Bengali.”
State’s honest cop bags international scholarship
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Although a hardworking and an honest officer in the state police, Satya Narayan Pradhan seems more of a scholar than a tough cop. An alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Pradhan has bagged the Chevening Scholarship of the British Council. He also passed out (with distinction) from the University of Essex after completing a course on human rights. And if that was not enough, the scholar cop has to his credit the training of over 500 IPS officers at the Police Training Academy for six years now. Hence, it came as no surprise, when the British government selected him for the £15,000 award for his innovative ideas on training policemen and making them more efficient. The competition was open for all police officers in Commonwealth countries. But, as Pradhan reminisces, it was “baptism by fire” for him when he began serving the people. His first posting was at Dhanbad as the additional superintendent of police (trainee). There he survived the horror of losing his able superior Randhir Verma, who was gunned down by criminals in broad daylight. The fiercely loyal cop has a lighter side to him, a person who enjoys cricket — he’s a member of the Hyderabad University cricket squad — and music and reading, just as much as he loves his job of teaching a new generation of recruits.
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The album, Paro, is special for Vivek Asthana. It has seven songs sung by him, and music directed by him. But apart from the artistic challenges that the album offered, it is a sort of a homecoming for 34-year-old Vivek. Chaibasa-born Vivek has been settled in Mumbai for the past eight years. Slowly coming into being as a music director there, he has shared credentials with Rajesh Roshan in a Hollywood-Bollywood venture, Valley of Flowers, with two stellar performers — Naseeruddin Shah and Milind Soman. Apart from this he is also the creator of the Indian Oil jingle and is responsible for the background score of many saas-bahu sagas. Having completed his schooling from Chaibasa — also the home town for lyricist Nawab Arzoo — Vivek did his Plus Two from Ranchi’s St Xavier’s College. His passion for music later dragged him to the entertainment capital of India — Mumbai.
